National Weekend Rundown for October 24

National Weekend Rundown
Johanna Gretschel

IHSAA Semi State (IN)
RESULTS

No. 4 Ben Veatch, Sarah Leinheiser (CR!) Lead Carmel Sweep

The Carmel girls and boys underscored why they deserve their national rankings on Saturday, as both programs swept the Indiana Semi-State meet on their home course.

No. 4 ranked Ben Veatch clocked his second straight sub-15 minute victory with a 14:58 win, not far off Futsum Zeinasellassie 's 14:51 mark set in 2010. Zeinasellassie went on to place second at Foot Locker Nationals that year.

"[The record] was in my mind, but I was just trying to win for the team," Veatch said. "We got the team win and are very excited for what's to come."

Fellow Carmel runner Sarah Leinheiser did succeed in setting a new course record, as the junior continued her breakout season with a 17:22.3 clocking over 5k to win by 41 seconds and improve her PR by two seconds. Leinheiser started the season with her first-ever sub-18 minute run and really broke through with a 17:24 PR last weekend at Sectionals.

"It was announced at the meet that Sarah's 17:22.3 was the 2nd fastest girls 5k XC time in Indiana history behind only Mishawaka standout, Anna Rohrer," said head Greyhounds coach Mark Ellington.

For reference, Leinheiser ran 19:40.5 to finish 33rd at Semi-State last year.

"I'm honestly not sure," she said of her marked improvement. "I've done a lot more cross training and I have long core sets I do each day, but in the end I [truly] think it's a God thing, I don't know how else to explain the miracles He's brought forth for me this year."

The win included several top girls in the state, including Taylor Nicholson, one of the few runners to defeat Leinheiser earlier this season. The junior from Avon finished fifth in 18:32.

The No. 9 ranked Carmel boys scored 64 points to defeat Fishers by just 10 points, as Fishers ran an impressive 18-second spread compared to a 1:21 gap for Carmel. Both teams' runners placed very closely man-for-man, with Carmel coming out ahead in each spot except for No. 5.

The No. 10 Carmel girls were much more dominant, as they packed up for a 39 point win with three girls in the top 10 overall. Behind Leinheiser, Stacy Morozov (4th, 18:28), Maddie Dalton (6th, 18:36), Christian Geisler (17th, 19:04) and Megan Kress (20th, 19:11) combined for an 18:32 team average.

NATIONAL WEEKEND RUNDOWN

Saucony Flo50 National XC Rankings: